Lost to Love Again
by FlatPanda
Summary: Set after the events of Duelist Kingdom. Yugi finds himself once again on Pegasus Island. Who else will turn up and what mysteries and dangers do the shadows still hold?  And yes, I can write lemons, if you're nice to me.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: This is an older story of mine that I'm re editing. I had it up at another site that crashed so now I'm giving fanfictiondotnet another chance. I really hate the crappy editing and spacing features on this site so bear with me if it's hard to read. If there's anything you didn't like the first time or want to see more of, just let me know.

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The room was deathly still with only the palest light from a small arched window falling across the bare wooden floor. The dark mahogany of the bedposts reflected enough of the moon for Yugi to make out their thick sturdy outline against the heavy velvet curtains cascading down from the canopy in garnet shaded waves.

There was nothing in this dark stone walled room to suggest the modern world. That was in itself both comforting and disturbing. There were thick white candlesticks tearing over large gold encrusted candelabra placed around the midnight space. The candles were no longer lit.

It was such a contrast from the earlier times he had come before the Master. Those other rooms had been white and sterile and packed with the best technology money could buy. They shone with sunlight and chrome and the cheerful beeps of many little monitoring devices.

In a way those times had been happy and hopeful, seeming to reveal everything under the bright impersonal lights. Facts had been facts, but never the whole truth. The mask of civility and carefully groomed etiquette which the Master was born and bred to display had never wavered. Everything there had been so very reassuring, but at the same time so false and cold. The hidden weariness and despair was a bad taste in the back of Yugis mouth that had stayed for days afterwards.

Here in the darkness things seemed right. There was dignity here. The gentle quiet sort of sanctuary that resonated so well with the masters personality. Most people thought of overbearing egotism, sharp wit, evil manipulations and the like. But Yugi knew the master was more than that. More than the mask he wore.

This Master played with a love of life, dueled with a touch as light and subtle as a shadow so that one could never guess his next move or read his motives. He had played with his whole heart and his whole soul. And he had lost. Life had betrayed him much earlier than most and fate had proved exceedingly cruel.

The things the Master had done in his life, the choices he had made, were all because of love. He had lost the love of his life and everything he had done, all his business deals and amassed wealth, all the cruel taunts and insults to engage his opponents, everything was all part of a complex scheme to capture millennium items and restore his muse to life.

It was natural to assume that along the way he lost his humanity, he lost his path and became the man he pretended to be. In fact the mask had become a real part of him, he had admitted as much to Yugi. He didn't want forgiveness for the choices he had made. He could not have survived as long as he had if it was all only an act.

But the Master also knew when to draw the line. Inside he was still the same delicate and romantic soul he had been in the beginning and he was always so very careful not to loose sight of the things that were important in life. Things like friendship and love and the rare beauty of the world. That's what Yugi thought of as he stood by his friends bedside. The thing they had always talked about on Yugis visits, how important it is to be with the people you care for. It seemed a tragic portrait that Yugi was the only one who had come here now.

This man had taught him so much. Yugi knew he would never have been a duelist if it had not been for this master. His Grandpa had also taught him a lot about dueling, gotten him his first set of cards, but that was not enough. His friends had always supported him, but they would never understand why he had come here tonight.

Without this person he would never have realized his full potential or his true destiny. For Yugi, this was "The"duel master, the master of duel monsters, the master of his skills, the master of the heart of the cards and everything he wanted to learn about dueling. This was his real teacher, his real mentor.

There was no way Yugi could repay the opportunities he had been given. There was no way he could set things right. He had tried. He had prayed. He had searched. But now there was no time left. Yugi didn't know why he had come really. It was to show his respect certainly. But there was nothing else he could do or say. He felt useless. There was nothing anyone could do. He only wished that other people could know his master the way he did. But this moment, this fragile too fluid time belonged to Yugi alone.

The figure in the bed stirred slightly and Yugi stepped closer. He wanted so badly to reach out his hand to touch the stricken body. The gesture would not be accepted, even now. He knew this from experience. The world had been so very cruel to his master that even the simplest act of compassion, the barest touch of kindness would cause him to flinch away with remembered pain.

He gazed down upon the gaunt frame of this ruined man. Bones seemingly made of iron rods and muscles of whip cord, he had been so strong against such overwhelming despair. Now the chest barely rose with each breath under the dove white blouse spread wide from countless futile examinations. Cushions supported his open arms, wrists exposed and scarred from needles and intravenous tubes. The masters head was thrown back against more of the soft embracing pillows but again he stirred tossing from side to side, long elegant fingers flexed, as if he sensed Yugis presence.

"Yugi, little Yugi, are you here?"

The soft velvet voice, never pausing and never uncertain even when posing a question, still floated effortlessly from the moon pale lips.

"Yes, I'm here. I came because they said...they said you were dying."

Yugis own voice sounded small and cracked in the wrong places. He didn't realize how scared he was until he heard himself speak.

"Yugi. You know they've been saying that for months now."

He turned his cheek towards Yugi, resting it on a wave of long soft silver hair. Even though Yugi knew there was no sight behind those bandages across his mentors eyes he fought back a desperate urge to rip them away. He wanted to look into that cinnamon chasm and see the amber sparks he had seen when they last dueled together. He wanted to see the power and the passion for life that meant everything was going to be alright.

"I know. I didn't want to listen, I didn't think they could be right. No one else believes it. Just the other day Joey was saying it was only another scheme of yours, you know, to get us all back for the way things turned out. When it was on the news they laughed. They said that if it was true...I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Yugi looked down at his hands.

"They said I deserved what I got, yes?"

Pegasus almost smiled. Almost, as if the effort to reach Yugi with such a gesture was too much for him.

"I, well...You know noone could ever mean something like that!"

Yugi blurted out impulsively.

"They could, and they do."

The Master drew in a shuddery breath.

"But Yugi, you can never think like that. Little Yugi, that's why I chose you."

He raised his angel white hand and gestured towards the bedside table. On it was placed a small red stained box with elaborate gold tracery in a compass rose design. Yugi slowly reached for the box, holding his breath.

In his heart Yugi knew what would be inside. He had often seen this box on the table in the other bright sick room when he had come for his secret visits. It was always there when they played duel monsters. His Master always seemed to know which card he had drawn even without his sight.

Yugi also knew what it meant and he dreaded what he would find when he opened its lid. He held his breath. Slowly he slid his fingers over the smooth inlay of the lid and lifted it open. It was the right box, the one that held Pegasus most treasured cards. These were the cards that he kept separate from his professional deck, these cards were the ones he had painted by hand himself and featured all his own original monsters. Yugi lifted the deck reverently out of the box and held them in the moonlight.

"But Pegasus! These are your special cards! I can't take these!"

Yugi put the cards back in the rose box and snapped the lid shut.

"You will take them, and you will use them when they are needed."

Pegasus tried to gesture again with his hand but his languid movements fell short and his hand dropped back onto the folds of the bed.

"You made these, they're your own special cards, how will you duel without them?"

"Yugi, we both know that since my Millennium eye was taken I don't have the strength to keep fighting. I can't duel the way you need me to, but these cards may help you and your friends."

"Then I'll just be keeping them for you until we find a way to recover your Millennium item? Then you'll duel again with us? On our side?"

Yugi again wished he could see Pegasus eyes. He wanted to be reassured so badly. Pegasus was a very powerful man but over the last few months Yugi had also learned that he could be caring and sensitive. They had become better friends on each visit and the more he learned about Pegasus the more he learned about all the kind things the man had done for others. Yugi wished there was a way he could help, if only there was more time.

"Yugi, I'm sorry..."

Pegasus voice became a soft whisper and faded into the moonbeams. Yugi took his hand at last and received a warm squeeze. A dozen crazy schemes went swirling through Yugis head. He didn't want to give up. He could reverse time with his time wizard card, or he could go back to Egypt and find another millennium item to save Pegasus. He could even give him his own millennium puzzle to keep him alive until they returned his eye.

"Yugi, I'm tired. I want you to go."

"But Pegasus..."

"Cecelia is waiting for me. Goodbye, little Yugi."

Pegasus let go of Yugis hand and turned his face away towards the darkness.

The words were like a blow to Yugi. He staggered back, eyes tearing and wide, hand over his heart. He looked down at the box of cards he was still clutching desperately and then back at the closing shadows. His time with Pegasus was up.

"Goodbye, Master Pegasus."


	2. fireflies know

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It was a beautiful summer evening in Westgrove park. Not beautiful in the average sense of the word either. It was more a kin to perfection. The wet sargasso grass was glistening with misty ankle soaking dew. Across it in the shadows of the gently feathered willow trees many tiny florescent gems floated on the soft babies breath wind.

Fire flies drifted in and out of the darkness in the verdant life damp air. Time seemed to pause with them as they hovered in the hazy violet atmosphere somewhere just between midnight and the promised edge of dawn.

"Oh isn't that lovely!"

Tea exclaimed as she tugged at her heel to tighten her sandal strap. The pink leather had become loose and wet from her shortcut across the grass from one close spaced limestone path to another. She put her shopping bags on a nearby rod iron bench as her soft blue eyes followed the little dancing emerald lights.

"You're right Tea. I haven't seen this many fireflies all summer! "

Mai agreed with her. The older girl paused to wait for her companion, her mauve suede heels crunching noisily on the white gravel.

"Oh, it's so magical!"

Tea nodded dreamily. She yawned widely and picked up her baggage again with an effort.

"Mai, what time is it?"

She asked reluctantly. Mai flipped her long pale daffodil hair and rolled up the sleeve of her mauve lined jean jacket. She squinted down at her abalone watch dial. The blond moved into a pool of amber light from one of the tear drop shaped park lamps.

"Oh my gosh Tea! You're not going to believe this! It's nearly two in the morning! I'm so sorry I've kept you out so late!"

Mai blushed lightly with embarrassment.

The last time they had checked the time it was only ten o'clock. Time really did fly when you were having a blast. Although Mai admitted even she was beginning to feel tired.

They really shouldn't have stayed so late at the arcade, and then the café after that, and then the dessert bar on fifth street for the one of a kind double chocolate fudge cheese cake that you can't find anywhere else.

She momentarily felt guilty because she only had one bag of shopping. She had bought orange blossom perfume at the Paris boutique because it had a pretty purple bottle, and that had fit into her white leather purse. Tea was lugging around two pairs of shoes and two dresses in bulky plastic shopping bags!

"It's ok Mai, really. I've never had so much fun shopping in my whole life! But I'm sure my parents are going to freak!"

Tea grinned morbidly to herself. She could already hear her parents scolding her. And then they would find out how much she spent! It would be a long while before she was allowed out with Mai again, but it had been worth it to her in every way.

"Oh Tea, why don't we go back to my place instead? Then your parents won't think you were out so late?"

Mai pointed across the park the way they had come towards the silhouette of her condo in the near distance.

"You know, that just might work..."

Tea replied anxiously.

"But can we sit down here for a while? My feet are killing me!"

Without waiting for a reply Tea plopped herself down on the bench and gazed off at the fireflies again. Mai sighed and sat down next to her. Tea leaned her head against Mais shoulder lazily, her soft chestnut hair brushing across Mais cheek. It really was a beautiful night thought Mai as she breathed in the fresh dew laced scent of flowers and trees.

/This is such a perfect night.../

Yami Bakura hummed to himself.

/Such a perfect night for murder./

He grinned and laughed to himself in his secret shadowed hiding place. He looked at his golden prize again, turning it over and over in his hands. He loved how it glowed in the moonlight. The little sparkles of power echoed the cruel glint in his eyes.

The tomb robber was sitting up in the arms of an ancient willow tree looking out over the vast black void of lawn in the park. He tried to ignore the happy little lights of the fireflies and preferred instead to focus on the damp scent of grass and earth. It reminded him of the grave and the excitement of undiscovered treasures.

/Why are you doing this?/

A small voice crept into the evil Bakuras mind.

/Because worm! I'm going to rule the world! That's why! Now shut up and get back in your soul chamber before I decide to hurt you as well!/

Yami Bakura snapped at his host bodies true soul. That little fool was always interrupting him at the wrong moments. This was the night he would finally triumph and claim a second millennium item for himself!

Yami Bakura again focused on the object in his hands. He turned it over again, concentrating on its power. He was drawing as much energy as he could into it by attacking it with his own. Drawing all the energy away from its original master and weakening him further and further.

/Yes! Yes, I can feel it! He's on the edge now! Right now! I can hardly believe the power is almost mine!/

The evil one seethed with malicious glee. He would finally have the extra force he needed to stand up to the Pharaoh and capture the millennium puzzle as well! Then the rest would all fall into his hands one after the other without any trouble at all, and then the whole world would be his!

The best part was, the very best part that made Yami Bakura laugh with all his savage soul; Pegasus had no idea who had stolen the eye from him! All the mans wealth and power and magic were useless! The millionaire couldn't do a thing to track Bakura, he had used such a powerful spell to wipe out Pegasus memory when his mind had been weakened from dueling Yugi and the Pharaoh. He would have to remind himself to thank those two for their help when he stripped them of the millennium puzzle.

A sudden flare of sparks came from the golden millennium eye in Bakuras hands and he had to grip it with the edges of a cloth to stop his fingers from being burnt. Every time he thought he was there, the infernal thing resisted his tampering. The weaker its master got the more the eye protested and tried to lash out at him. It was as if it had a mind of its own. And of course he couldn't really direct it at all until the soul it was bonded to left this world.

/Gah, but he's a stubborn one! I know you want to die Pegasus! I know you want to give up, give me the world Pegasus, give it up!/

Yami Bakura grumbled to himself and the sparks leapt higher and hissed defiantly at him in his tree. At the time he had thought that winning the eye from it's weakened host would be enough. If he knew the eye would refuse his will as long as Pegasus was alive he would have stayed and made sure the man was truly dead.

Just then something below caught his attention. A swirling bit of laughter, a girls laughter. He looked down at the path below him. There were two of them there, and the worst of all worst possibilities, he recognized them! It was Mai and that annoyingly cheerful girl Tea from school.

/Drat!/ He huffed to himself. /If they see me I'll have to play nice and pretend to go home! I'll also have to make up an excuse for sitting in a tree in the middle of the night!/

Yugi and his friends thought that the millennium ring was gone, that he had been banished into the shadow realm and his host retrieved alone from the darkness. They had never guessed Ryou had hidden him within his very own heart. His host was nothing if not loyal and the Pharaoh would always be blind to the true reach of hatred and darkness.

The evil one leaned back into the shadows of his hiding place. It never failed that he was always interrupted when he needed to concentrate the most!

Fortunately, after a few moments he realized that neither one of the girls was very likely to look up. They also seemed to have settled down on a bench with their backs to him. He breathed a silent sigh of relief. With any luck they would move on in a few minutes.

He listened to their mindless prattle to pass the time. The spirit grinned when he learned Tea the ever perfect honor student was staying out past her bedtime and lying to her parents. It wouldn't be long before good little Tea was hanging out at bars and clubs and having sex for drug money, he smirked to himself. It always happened to the anally repressed ones once they discovered freedom. They always loose control. He heard a muffled protest from the back of his mind but he was having too much fun picturing Tea in strippers clothes to pay any attention to his little landlords protests.

"Mai?"

Tea lifted her head and looked up at her friend.

"Mmm? Yes Tea?"

Mai said sleepily. She was debating whether or not they should go back to her apartment at this point. They were both falling asleep on this bench. She stretched her arms over her head and tried to focus her attention.

"I just want to thank you for taking me out today. It was just like if I had a big sister. You're one of the coolest people I know."

"Hey, no problem kid." Mai smiled warmly. "You're not going to try to hug me, are you?"

Mai looked so serious that Tea started giggling at her.

"Just for that, I will!"

And she wrapped her arms around Mai and squeezed her tightly.

"Hey! Go get yourself a boyfriend Tea! I mean really, you're way too cute to be stuck with me. You should be staying out late in a place like this with the guy of your dreams. Why I remember when I was your age..."

Tea started all out laughing at Mai.

"What?"

"For a minute there you sounded just like Yugis Grandpa!"

Mai started laughing too.

"Hey! I'm only twenty three! And I didn't mean it like that Tea. I only think you've been single for way too long. So dish it girl, who've you got a secret crush on?"

"Me? A crush on someone?"

Tea blushed madly and looked out at the field of fireflies again. Mai had seen her looking at the wedding dresses in the store windows with a silly smile on her face. That kind of day dreaming only meant one thing.

"Come on, you can tell me!"

Mai elbowed her and winked a violet eye.

"Well...I guess I can tell you. "

Tea paused for dramatic impact.

" I always have sort of liked..."

"Oh come on already! There's no one for miles around! I swear I won't say a thing!"

Mai was getting impatient. She tried to remember if she had ever been this flaky when she was a sixteen year old school girl with a crush. Not a chance! She decided, while a vision of Von Beautrod, the red haired quarter back from the senior team danced across her star eyed memory.

"Ok, fine. Lately, I've been thinking about Joey."

Mai nearly fell off the bench she was so startled. She gripped the edge and starred at Tea as if the girl had lost her mind. Then she tried desperately to recover her composure.

"Oh, Joey huh? Well, he kind of, he has, a good personality?"

Mai stammered trying to be encouraging.

"I knew you wouldn't take it well. But he makes me laugh! And in the morning when he comes out of his house with his hair all messy and he can hardly tell where he's going, it's just so cute!"

Tea clasped her hands and looked dreamy eyed at the moon. Mai wanted to bang her head against the lamp post but she decided against it. She didn't want to hurt Teas feelings. And Joey wasn't that bad, for an annoying friend. At least he was getting better at dueling and could kind of almost be considered a real man instead of the whiney goofy teenager he had been before Duelist Kingdom.

"Tea, it doesn't matter what I think, as long as you like him and he likes you the same."

Tea looked at her sheepishly.

"You have told him right? I mean you've at least given him some hints?"

Now Mai really wanted to bang her head against the lamp post. She felt like an ill prepared youth councillor. The blond sighed to herself.

Oh well, everyone has to have a first crush. Too bad it had to be Joey.

"Well, I don't really know how to say it."

Tea replied blushing hotly. She was even more grateful she had this time with Mai alone.

"Ok, well why don't you just kiss him then?"

Mai said casually, as if she regularly locked lips as a form of introduction. In some cases she had actually found that to be appropriate.

"Kiss him!!?"

Tea looked like a wide eyed rabbit preparing to bolt.

" But Mai, I can't just...I don't know how!!"

"You simply find the right moment alone with him, and it happens. There's nothing to explain. There's nothing to it Tea."

The cerulean eyed girl looked less than convinced and she was wringing her hands.

/So, Tea likes Joey. How sweet./

Yami Bakura spat. He hated mushy teenagers. He thought Mai was tougher than this. Who would have guessed she'd be the one to take soft little Tea under her wing. Now he knew her weakness as well as Teas. An evil grin slipped across his face and he leaned over to listen more intently. What he heard next made him do a double take.

"Oh Mai. I don't know what the heck I'm doing! What if I get it wrong? What if he hates it, or he hates me for it, or..."

Tea was almost on the verge of an anxiety attack over all the humiliating possibilities. Mai sighed. She tried to form a way to explain how to kiss someone in her head. She tried to think of a way she could get Tea to understand. The girl was looking at the ground dejectedly at this point. She had to do something to help...

"Would you like me to show you Tea?"

Mai finally blurted out. For a second she thought it was the stupidest idea in the world, would Tea even know what she meant? Then she saw Teas eyes brighten.

"Oh Mai, would you really!? You'd really kiss me on the mouth? I always wanted to know what it felt like...you know in practice first? Without a guy to get totally weirded out if I mess up?"

Mai laughed softly. A kiss could be "messed up" but in her opinion that was never a bad thing.

"Alright, not a word to any other soul?"

"You got it!"

Tea nodded vigorously.

"Ok, lets start with the beginners level..."

Yami Bakura leaned even further over and oogled at the scene before him. This was way better than his "Tea in strippers clothes" fantasy. Those two were making out! Right there in front of him! And they were good! Mai definitely knew her way around and she was taking it step by step. He could feel himself starting to drool.

Yami Bakura had his mouth gaping so far open a firefly flew right into it! He gagged and hacked, trying not to make a lot of noise, but it was too late. He had been spotted!

"Hey! I think there's someone back there!!"

Mai jumped up and pointed at the tree behind them.

Still hacking and gasping for breath the evil one was so startled that he fell right out of the tree accompanied by the snapping of branches and a loud resounding thud as his tail bone hit the wet grass. This was the most humiliating thing to happen to him in centuries! Before either of the girls could react further he scrambled to his feet, slipping and sliding on the grass as he retreated into the night.

"Mai, I'm scared! We should call the police!"

Tea clung to her friends arm and looked teary eyed into the darkness. She groped for her cell phone in her purse and held it tightly to her chest.

"No way, I saw him! That pervert ran off so fast he's probably in Mexico by now. At least he better be or that's where I'll kick his ass to!!"

Mai started yelling as she stomped fearlessly into the bushes at the foot of the willow and began thrashing them around. Tea hesitantly followed her, not wanting to be left alone. She shivered in the damp night air. The park suddenly seemed a lot darker than it had been a few moments before and the quiet was beating on her nerves.

"I don't see anything but leaves Mai."

Tea offered a falsely optimistic opinion.

" Maybe there was no one here? Maybe it was a racoon?"

"There was a guy back here, I saw him run off! Look there! Those are broken branches! He must have fallen out of the tree!"

The blond gestured fiercely at the marks and debris at the base of the tree.

"You mean he was up there spying on us this whole time?!"

Tea had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. The cool night air ran up her bare legs like fingers trailing just below the edge of her shorts. She turned desperately to Mai again. She wanted to ask to be taken home now and she didn't care what her parents would say. All Tea wanted was to find her nice warm bed in her nice warm room and be safe. The older girl was leaning down examining something in the long dew soaked grass. Tea edged closer to Mai but had to clasp her hands over her ears. The still air was suddenly shattered by an ear piercing scream.

Mai leaned shaking against the tree trunk, her violet eyes wide and fixed on the ground near her.

"What? What is it Mai?"

Tea was almost scared enough to faint. Her hands were trembling as she pushed her way through the bushes not caring about the scratching branches against her skin. She grabbed Mai by the shoulder clinging onto her like a life raft in the dark sea of fear. Something was very wrong if Mai had screamed. Mai never screamed like that, ever!

The blond pointed down at the ground, still starring. It took her a moment to shake herself back to reality. She ran her hands through her long wavy hair and took a deep breath before she spoke.

"I don't think I believe it... I was startled, that's all."

She gave Teas hand a squeeze.

"It's nothing really scary. It can't hurt us. If it's real... I think I'm way too tired, that's all."

Mai managed a brave smile for Teas benefit, although she was clearly still unnerved..

"What Mai? What did you see?"

Tea tried to force herself to relax. The guy, whoever he was, he was long gone now. Mai bent down again, this time crouching low to the ground. She slowly picked up a white handkerchief from under a fallen branch. Tea sighed a huge sigh of relief and nearly started laughing. It really was foolish, just Mais eyes playing a trick on her in the dark. Then Mai held out the white cloth and Tea gasped.

"Is this what I think it is?"

Mai asked, her amethyst eyes suddenly filled with somberness.

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	3. Last Petal

Authors note: Sorry it's kinda slow going for now. But I'll try and get the chapters up faster from now on. Lemme know your fav pairings so I can get some new/old lemons in here. This story has lots of crazy options.

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Yugi couldn't think. He just let his feet start walking and the black corridors of the castle swallowed him whole. It could have been  
hours that he stumbled on through the echoing stone passageways wishing that each moonlit window and archway he passed by was  
a gateway to somewhere else, some other world where things like this could never happen. He didn't want to think about it. It hurt  
too much. The feeling was a heavy blanket draped over his heart that he could not throw off.

The white figure lying in the dark room. The man who made him what he was. He tried to banish it from his thoughts but his mind kept returning to the room he left. How long until the Master died? Was he gone already? Was his last breath passing this very second?

Yugi knew he had to keep going, he had to get away from this place and put it behind him. He had to stop thinking about it because it was going to happen no matter what and the Master had chosen it this way. But Yugi didn't know where to go. Where could he escape the hurt and the loss? Even his Grandpa wouldn't understand. Even his own Yami wouldn't accept the good he had seen in the Master.

Yami had been silent ever since they arrived at the island this time. Perhaps Yami sensed that his dislike for Pegasus would only make his comforts sound false. He always said Pegasus cheated when he dueled because he used his millennium eye to read his opponents mind, but Yugi couldn't see how that was any different from when he used his own Millennium puzzle to call on Yami for help during a duel.

Looking into someone's mind without permission, even forcing your way in was wrong. But Pegasus had been desperate and in a lot of pain. And the millennium eye was a real part of Pegasus. It seemed only natural that he would use it, maybe without even thinking about it. Yugi could take off his millennium puzzle any time he wanted. Without his eye Pegasus was blind and broken. Yugi had forgiven him. He didn't understand why Yami couldn't. He could feel Yamis warmth close against his thoughts.

/Because, my light, he chose his own path. He chose to hurt you. He chooses to hurt you even now by sending you away and refusing our help./

Yamis voice was gentle and soft in the back of Yugis mind but it kept a stern edge. Yugi knew there was some truth in what his soul mate was saying.

/Yami, you have to forgive him. It can't end this way. Please? I know he felt bad about all the things he did./

Yugi felt the sunny amber light of his Yami hug him inside.

/I know Yugi, and I know your heart. For you I can forgive anything. I need you to see that my strength is your strength, you don't have to face this alone./

/Thank-you Yami./

For a small instant a smile flickered across the boys face, then it was gone amidst the shifting shadow patterns of tree branches from an open doorway.

Yugi stopped at the foot of the small staircase and looked out on the vine veiled cloister. The gardens in the inner courtyard were thick and beautiful, fragrant even in the dead of night. White lilacs grew up beside the steps and he paused to finger their silky blooms. On most days it only took him minutes to reach the courtyard from the tower. Had it only been minutes since he last saw Pegasus? It seemed an eternity had already passed.

"It's a lovely night, isn't it?"

A mans slightly gravelly voice made Yugi jump.

"Yes Sir, it is nice, I guess."

The boy replied as he recognized the familiar silhouette of Croquet leaning casually against one of the fluted stone pillars to his right. The Masters head of security was dressed in his usual dark suit but his sunglasses were missing and he reached up and pawed absently at his eyes with the back of his hand. His hair and mustache seemed to be more grey than brown under the moonlight and he looked older than Yugi remembered. He sniffed a bit and regarded Yugi with a stiff smile.

"You'll be wanting me to call the airstrip for you soon, right."

He stated the words in his direct business like manner as if everything was still running smoothly. He took his radio communicator out of his pocket and adjusted the antenna. Yugi looked dejectedly at the ground. He felt himself move down the steps and he sat down on the second cold flagstone from the bottom.

"Look, kid, I know how you feel. It seems bad now, but life will go on for the rest of us."

The man said in as kind a tone as he could muster. He regarded the kid with his spiky black and red tipped hair and the blond bangs that bent at sharp angles hanging down into his eyes.

Momentarily Croquet wondered what was wrong with young people these days, that they could dress with belt buckles around their necks and studded everything, and still take themselves seriously. Perhaps that was what the Master saw in this one, that he didn't take himself so seriously. Yugi was always so open and cheerful, he reminded Croquet of Pegasus in his youth. They were both so easily hurt.

Yugi looked up frowning angrily. He knew Croquet was trying to be nice. But it wasn't fair! How could Pegasus just give up! How could this happen?! It was so wrong and nothing could fix it!

"You don't know anything! I should have done something! I should have saved him! He wouldn't let me help! He gave up and told me...he told me to leave!"

Hot tears were streaking down the teenagers cheeks and he held his shoulders to keep from shaking with the sobs that rose in his throat. Croquet moved closer and put a strong hand on Yugis shoulder. He gave the boy a grey handkerchief and for a long while neither of them said anything more. Yugi sniffled a bit to himself but his anger was draining away. He felt so empty despite his company. Finally Croquet moved away and starred up at the deep moonlit sky.

"This night. It's not like the night we lost Lady Cecilia at all. It rained and stormed for a week then. There was nothing anyone could do for her, poor girl. Married only a year. Brain tumor they said, ten days left at most when they found it. She lasted four. She died in his arms in the middle of the night. I swear I never saw him cry. Not a single tear in front of anyone. Do you know what he said?"

The man walked past Yugi and picked a small golden rose. He twirled it beneath his nose as Yugi remained quiet and shook his head.

"He said, some things are beyond tears. And that was all he ever said on the matter to me or anyone else. I've never known anyone who hurt so bad for losing a woman. The last eight years he's been dying. A little more each day because he's without her. I honestly thought he'd slit his wrists or throw himself off one of the towers. But those monster cards and that golden eye from Egypt kept him going, too long and too far if you ask some people."

Croquet began tearing off petals, letting them flutter to the moss edged marble path.

"The eye was magic. It let him read minds. He was trying to get her back but it would never have worked."

Yugi let the words slip out and he looked up quickly to see if the older man would object. He didn't mean to let Pegasus secret out so easily, but maybe it didn't matter now. Croquet hardly even blinked.

"I figured as much. I've seen a lot of strange things in my time. I used to work for the CIA before I took this job. They sent me to investigate his fathers illegal business practices. No one could get that rich without mob connections and what not, or so they assumed. Well the old man took me aside and told me straight out his family was so successful because they were psychic."

He smiled a bit crookedly with a lighter more jovial voice. Yugi nearly smiled too, but these were not his warm memories.

"You mean his whole family had special abilities?"

Yugi asked looking a little doubtful. Croquet shrugged his shoulders and scratched the back of his head. Then he grinned slyly.

"Well at first I was a little skeptical, till I saw his five year old daughter levitate a limo right there in the driveway to get a toy that had rolled under it. If I went back to the government with that bit of info they'd either lock me up in the nut house or come after the family and lock them up in a lab, so old Master Pegasus offered me a job and I've been here ever since."

He glanced up behind him at the dark tower and his smile disappeared.

"So what happened to them? Pegasus never said anything about his family. Shouldn't they be here now?"

Yugi looked one part confused and one part hopeful. Maybe there was some kind of comfort for the Master after all. Croquets answer sent a cold chill up his back.

"Maximilian was the last one of them left alive. The doctors say, they say his heart won't last the night."

Croquet knew he didn't have to add that last part. He didn't have to remind himself and the boy what was happening.

And what did doctors know about it anyways? All they could do is babble on about some mysterious trauma to the optic nerves causing severe shock, and that supposedly damaged the heart and lungs which kept getting worse and worse no matter what they did. Any idiot could see it was more than that. The Master wasn't only wasting away, he was in severe pain, as if he were being tortured. Yet there was nothing to be done. Master Pegasus accepted his demise willingly.

Croquet took a quick peek at his watch pressing the side of the dial to make it light up green. It was only twenty past two. At three he was going to make one last check of the tower chamber. If the Master was still lingering he would not look in again until dawn. As much as he hated leaving him alone, he couldn't go against his orders. He had spent half his life obeying the silver haired aristocrat.

He caught Yugi starring at him as he was checking his watch.

"Well, it's getting very late. We should phone your Grandpa and get you on a jet back to Domino city. You'll still have the rest of the weekend to be with your friends."

Yugi looked as if he was about to protest so Croquet kept talking.

" I know you usually stay the whole weekend when you visit here, but since it's only Friday night, I'm sure your Grandpa would like to see you home. Now come on. I'll drive you down to the airfield myself. It won't take long. I'll have the night staff send your bags from your room to the jet and they'll probably get there ahead of us."

He took Yugi by the shoulders as he reluctantly stood up. Croquet guided the boy out the door he had entered through. He barked a few brief orders into his communicator to set things in motion. He knew there was no way the kid could handle being here in the morning when the coroner showed up.

Yugi let the taller broad shouldered man lead him through the castle and down to the grand West entrance. There was an entrance hall at each compass point in this castle, but the West was the only one that a car could be driven right up to. The high gothic style vaulted ceiling which normally made the white marble space seem regal and light now loomed imposingly above him. Their footsteps echoed hollowly.

Yugi had never felt so small, and so helpless. The whole world had been turned on its side and he was left with nothing to hold onto. If this could happen to Master Pegasus, if death could claim someone once so powerful and passionate about life, then what chance did his other friends stand? Anyone could die, at any time! It came for everyone eventually.

A distant flash of headlights drew nearer through the coal black woods. He listened to the soft hum of the black sedan as it snaked its way up the long winding cobblestone driveway.

Yugi stood there silently regarding the vehicle as the driver side door clicked open and the smartly dressed chauffeur got out and held the passengers door open for him. Yugi couldn't move. His feet were made of lead.

"You'll feel a lot better when you're home safe. Trust me. I can't wait to get home to my own family when this is all over. Could be days before I see Marie and the kids again, but I promise I'll stick around and make sure everything's taken care of."

Croquets voice made Yugi wince a little, it was so loud in the tomb like hall. "There's nothing for you to worry about. It's all planned for."

He put his hand on the boys thin shoulder and guided him out through the heavy oak doors onto the wide stone carved landing.

"A coward accepts defeat, a warrior plans for it."

Yugi mumbled to himself. It had been Yamis absent thought, but it somehow seemed fitting. If only he could have helped Pegasus fight his illness. If only he could have made him see that life is still worth living, maybe there would have been a chance.

"What was that?"

Croquet tried to remain professional, but he was becoming very concerned. The Master had been very specific in his orders concerning Yugi. He was to be given every consideration. Anything he needed or wanted. But he was not to be here when the end came. Croquet was not going to fail, not now. Not when the boys heart was breaking in front of him.

"Nothing, I only wish..."

Yugis voice trailed off and a distant haunted expression swept his face as he looked away. Croquet bent down beside him and turned him back so he could see Yugis eyes. He starred right into those tearing purple pools and grasped both of Yugis shoulders.

"Save your wishes for someone who can use them."

His gruff voice became pleading and gentle. His wrinkle etched brown eyes were completely honest and serious.

" I've seen a lot of death in my line of work. It doesn't surprise me anymore. It's not new. But it's always, always terrible and it always hurts. You and I have to keep hope in our own lives, we have to keep on going. You understand?"

Yugi nodded his head wearily.

"Yes Sir, I know Sir."

He managed to get out without breaking down into more sobbing.

"There are rare times when it can be a blessing, when I want to see it. Tonight I prayed it would come for the Master."

Croquet saw the sudden garnet fire rise in the teenagers eyes.

"You want him to go? You hate him that much!?"

Yugi blurted out hotly and broke away from Croquet. He ran out onto the driveway and stood defiantly in the yellow headlights of the car with his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. A golden glow surrounded the heavy pendulum of the millennium puzzle around his neck. He was suddenly so angry and confused he wanted to call up every monster in the shadow realm to shred Croquet!

"I care about him too Yugi. You know that!"

Croquet called. He walked down to Yugi and held out his hand.

"That's why I want him to go. There's nothing left for him here and he deserves to find peace. Do you understand? "

Yugi still frowned and glared at the mans pleading features and outstretched hand.

/He's right Yugi. I've seen a lot of men die over the ages, yet I've never seen anyone face death as honestly or as bravely as Pegasus./

Yamis calm strong mind voice bathed Yugi in his soothing inner light.

/ I know he would never show it to you but I recognize the pain in his voice. There's only one thing that can take away that pain for him. It is what he wants and we have to respect his decision. /

/I did not want to admit this before, but we really could not help Pegasus even if he let us try. His millennium item is gone, and he cannot remember who took it from him. There is nothing we can do. I thought he was being selfish, giving up and leaving you like this. I understand now, he sent us away because he cares. He knew from the day he received it that he could not live without the eye. It was not pride that made him hide it from us and refuse our help for so long. It was love. He does care about you Yugi, he has a good heart. I see that now and I'm sorry I did not forgive him sooner./

/Thank-you Yami. I do understand. It's only...I'm going to miss him./

Yugi sniffled and took Croquets hand. He allowed himself to be ushered into the back seat of the car and watched as Croquet got into the drivers seat and the car began to move. The soft dark blue leather seats were little comfort but he leaned his cheek on them anyway and watched the midnight trees go by his window. Their branches seemed bowed beneath the silent shadows like somber mourners standing vigil.

It will be so strange, not having Master Pegasus around, Yugi thought. Even when he was at home or sitting at his desk in school, just knowing Pegasus was out here in the world made Yugi feel like he had a purpose. As long as the Master had been out here there was always the certainty of another challenge, another lesson, another chance to improve. Now Yugi had no real direction.

Now there would be no more tournaments. At least not any safe ones. That was the one odd thing about the Duelist Kingdom competition. No matter how hard things got, they had always felt safe. His friends were always with him, even his grandpa and the Kaiba brothers trapped in soul cards, they knew they were safe, imprisoned but safe. Pegasus had always been there, always watching and letting his strong presence be felt.

Nothing could have happened to really hurt anyone. Even the rolling boulder that should have killed them had turned out to be fake. Yugi couldn't help but smile as he remembered how the giant boulder had popped after all the terror it caused them and how hard they had laughed. Pegasus had wanted Yugi and his friends to make it to the final duel. Perhaps he will still be watching the duels, from where ever his soul ends up.

/I wonder if he'll miss me too?/ Yugi asked his Yami.

/I know he will, my light. And I know he will find peace with his lost Cecilia./

Yami comforted his soul mate as well as he could.

The next few days were going to be tough. Yami prayed to Ra that Pegasus had not arranged a big funeral. For a moment he pictured Pegasus done up in his best gold trimmed suit lying in a sleek black carved coffin with his silver hair laid out across a satin wine colored pillow. There would be scores of white candles burning and sprays of blood red roses lavished all around. He quickly hid this vision from Yugi. No, his light could not stand to see something so horrible and ghastly even amongst the trappings of beauty.

He decided that Pegasus would never do such a thing. The man had no family, and he had hidden his illness from any other friends he kept. The rumors that had leaked out about his downfall were only that, rumors. If there was any kind of ceremony it would be quiet, probably cremation and burial somewhere remote and beautiful. A poetic windswept sea cliff or a sunlit alpine meadow, a place befitting the deep topaz whims of an artist. That sounded more like the Pegasus he had come to know.

Yugi knew he was tired but he had never felt more awake in his life. He saw the black expanse of the torch lit airstrip looming up ahead of the car and he realized this was it. This was the last time he would get on a plane and leave this island. There was no coming back. There was nothing to come back to.

He dried the last of his tears with some Kleenex from a dispenser under the seat. The car was slowing down and the lights of the jet were shining through the tinted glass making bright red reflections across the gold fixtures on the inside of the car doors.

Croquet put the vehicle in park and stepped out. Yugi shivered in the blast of cool night air and gathered his blue jacket close around his throat. Croquet came around the car and opened Yugis door for him. The teenager reluctantly got out, leaving his warm seat behind. The vast starlit sky above seemed to inhale all the heat of the summer landscape.

"I want to thank you Mr. Croquet."

Yugi said and he looked up into the mans eternally bland and impassive face. He held out his hand and received a firm grasp in return.

"Don't mention it kid. You take care of yourself now."

Croquet replied with a rare hint of a smile.

"I will, I promise Sir. I'm going to keep on dueling like he taught me to."

Yugi smiled brightly back and then turned towards the plane.

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	4. Lonely Fate

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Maximilian lay calmly in the darkness. The bitter taste of painkillers still lingered on his dry swollen tongue but there was nothing to be done about that. He was immune to any poison his doctors could come up with. The pain still ached along his every vein and made him dizzy with exhaustion. If he were not already blind he realized he would have blacked out several times in the last few minutes alone. But now there was only a disorienting pause in his thoughts when the pain came jolting in. His body was far too weary to react any further.

And so I die again, he thought to himself. He had felt deaths fingers brush his cheek so often in this life, but there were dozens of past lives he could sense had ended for him in worse ways than this one.

Think back to the mind that thinks, look to the one before memories, and the one before that, and the one before that, ...who is it?

The answer was always the same for him. He was always the same, through the ages he had always met death alone.

He indulged himself in a small moment of regret. He wished there was more he could do for little Yugi and his regal spirit half Yami. The injury he had felt in Yugi as he left the room was nearly enough to crush his heart. Knowing what Yugi felt was worse than any other suffering Pegasus could endure. The poor boy was devastated and far too young to be facing such a situation.

No one should have to see this...

His own weakness and treachery disgusted him. He hoped sincerely that Yugi could have a happy life, royal destiny or not. Some vague memory dispelled any doubts he had for Yugis future. That spirit of his, that long dead Pharaoh, he would protect Yugi better than anyone could.

The inky darkness grew thicker upon his thoughts and he quieted his mind to listen. He lay still, not being able to move at all, feeling nothing. He could not tell where his limbs were, or if he was still sprawled against the soft pillows. He did not know if his head was laid back or was resting on his cheek. He listened and tried to feel something, anything. The pain was suddenly gone! But so was the throbbing of his heart. He couldn't tell if he was still breathing...

There, a movement, as tiny as the beating of a moths wings.

No, not free yet. Not yet...my darling Cecilia,.. I won't be long...

Her name was like a prayer to him. He let the heavy blackness take his care worn mind.

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	5. Friendships Call

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The brash ring of a cell phone erupted into the misty night air. Yugi had just clunked his foot onto the first aluminum stair leading up into the white streamlined jet. Startled, he stepped back and opened his jacket to check his inner pockets.

He felt his deck of dueling cards, his wallet and passport folder, the sad sleek box the master had given him...his fingers quickly moved on and he pulled out his blue and silver cell phone case.

The phone was still chiming at him. Usually, even the persistent Joey would have hung up by now. Yugi looked down at the phone and flipped it open, it had to be something important at this hour!

"Hello? Is that you Grandpa?"

He asked in his usual friendly tone without bothering to check the caller id screen. No one else would know he was awake at this time of night.

"Yugi! Oh my god! I'm so glad I got you!"

A girls voice yelled loudly into his ear and Yugi had to hold the phone away from his head. At first he wasn't sure who it was. Tea would never say "Oh my god", that was for sure.

"Yugi! It's me, Mai! Tea and I are in Westgrove Park, and you'll never guess what happened! Well, actually, we don't want you to guess what happened! You have to get over here right away!!"

Yugi starred at the phone and scratched his head. Mai obviously thought he was at home, but he had never heard her sound so freaked out. A sudden knotted feeling began in the pit of his stomach. Mai could handle herself really well, she was tough and independent most of the time. This had to be something bad, something about duel monsters or she wouldn't be calling him.

"Mai, are you ok? Is Tea ok? I'll be with you as soon as I can!"

"We're fine, here comes Tristan and Joey, I called them too... Eeek!"

Mai shrieked into the phone hitting a pitch that would set dogs barking. There was a lot of crackling on the phone.

"Mai! What is it!?"

Yugi raised his voice anxiously.

"You have to get here fast! I don't know how long I can deal with this thing!"

The older girl replied and the line dissolved into static.

"Mai! Mai are you there!?..."

Yugi shook the phone and tried to listen for her again but the connection was completely gone. He closed it up and shoved it haphazardly into his jacket. Croquet came jogging over to him with a questioning expression on his face. Yugi met him with fearful wide eyes.

Yami, I need your help!

Yugi thought quickly to his soul mate. Yamis smile flashed into his mind and that was all the answer he needed to call upon the power of the millennium puzzle.

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	6. Yamis Quest

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"Hey Mai! What's up?"

Tristan greeted the blond with concern in his narrow brown eyes. He skidded to a stop on the gravel path. Tea jumped up off the park bench and hugged him before he could get any further. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around him so he couldn't move.

"Hey, what is this?"

Tristan asked, looking down at Tea with a confused frown. He ran a hand through his dark sienna crewcut while he took in the situation. There didn't seem to be anything wrong...

"Shhh, Mai's on the phone with Yugi."

Tea said, her voice was muffled because she had her head buried in his brown corduroy jacket.

"Oh, well, you can let go of me now Tea."

Tristan patted the girl on the back and tried to unhook her arms.

"No, I can't."

Tea answered. Tristan was so strong and tall, it felt good just to hold him, to know she was not alone and that more of her friends were on their way. Joey came puffing up behind Tristan and leaned against the nearby lamp post.

"Hey guys, what's, goin on?"

Joey asked breathlessly. He could never keep up with Tristan when they ran. Especially not in the dark in the middle of the night. He had been having such a nice dream about eating ice cream at the beach until Tristan showed up and dragged him out of bed, right before the bikini contest was about to start! In fact Joey was still wearing his pajama pants and his bare feet were shoved into his running shoes.

Just then Mai let out a surprised sort of high pitched yelp as golden sparks flew out of a white cloth she was holding. She threw it down onto the wooden bench beside Teas shopping bags. The young woman continued to shout into the cell phone at Yugi, urging him to come to the park.

Joey and Tristan gasped when a sliver of gold light lashed out at them. It seemed menacing and angry although the same effect could be achieved with an ordinary flashlight. Somehow both the boys knew this was no flashlight.

Mai stood starring fixedly at the object. She slid her cell phone calmly into her purse and looked at her friends.

"I lost my connection with Yugi, there was too much static."

Her voice was not normal to them, she sounded stressed and preoccupied. Her violet eyes would not leave the bench.

"Mai, what's going on here! What is that thing?! Is it dangerous?"

Tristan leveled a volley of questions at her as he pried Tea off his chest. Tea immediately went over to Joey, but blushed and stood beside him instead of latching onto him the same way.

"That, Tristan, as far as either Tea or I can tell, is the millennium eye."

As they stood in silent shock Mai sat down carefully on the bench and gathered the object onto her lap. She closed the wrappings around the golden eye and stroked the edge of it soothingly as if it were alive. Maybe, in a way, it was.

"Ok, is it just me, or did we cross into the twilight zone somewhere back there?!"

Joey reacted loudly.

"Hey, let me see it! How do we know you're not pulling our legs?" Tristan said. "Cause if you are, it's definitely not funny!"

He came over and leaned over Mai.

"No way man! Don't look at it! It could suck you in!!"

Joey ran over and grabbed Tristan by the arm and tried to drag him away.

"That thing eats souls!"

"Oh, it will not!"

Responded Mai. She looked like she was about to scold them all for being silly, but then she felt a surge of heat from the artifact on her lap.

"It's just really, really creepy that's all. I mean it's not every day you find a millionaires fake eye lying on the ground in the park. I bet Pegasus would pay a lot to get this back."

She was trying to find the silver lining in a very odd situation.

Everyone looked at her with open fearful eyes at the mention of Pegasus. Joey started looking around in paranoid circles as if he expected the villain to jump out of the bushes at them any second.

"Actually, it only traps souls. And you have to have a soul card ready to put one in or it won't work."

Tristan replied smartly.

"And, Pegasus won't be coming for it any time soon. Remember, he's probably dead by now. He was definitely gay and people say he's got aids."

"Tristan, that's a terrible thing to say! Not only gay people die of aids! Anyone can get it! And gay people can die from the same regular things as anyone else! You shouldn't believe all the rumors you hear anyway! That's not how nice people act."

Tea exclaimed. She put her hands on her hips and scolded him. He looked genuinely ashamed but still grumbled under his breath.

"You're right Tea, but aids or not he was rather flaming, wasn't he?" Mai said with a crooked smile. It was terribly bad taste to use such a stereo type, but Pegasus had never given her, or any other woman for that matter, the time of day. And honestly, what kind of man would regularly wear a pink velvet suit with ruffled lace these days and expect not to be labeled?

Mai was almost glad Pegasus was gone except that now the only person the millennium eye was valuable to was Yugi. She hoped he would get here soon. It had only been a minute or two since she lost the phone connection, but the sooner she got rid of this macabre souvenir the sooner she could go home and put this strange night behind her.

"Poor guy, I'd hate to end up like that, all crazy and alone with no one at my funeral."

Joey paused for a moment. When the others starred at him he added,

"Not that the psycho creep doesn't deserve it for what he put Yug through."

"And how."

Tristan agreed whole heartedly, there by finalizing the conversation about the person they all hated. No one bothered to mention what they had learned about the mans quest to revive his long dead wife through capturing millennium items. Nothing could justify someone hurting one of their friends the way Pegasus had hurt Yugi with his soul cards.

Tristan turned to Mai again to ask her if she was going to give the eye to Yugi to look after. It was too late at night to be going over all the possibilities of what to do with the thing now. He was simply glad everyone was safe.

Unfortunately, before Tristan could open his mouth the wind suddenly picked up and began whipping around them with hurricane force. Bits of leaves and twigs and loose gravel spun all around stinging their faces and the group of friends clung to each other around the bench where Mai was sitting.

The surrounding shadows detached themselves from the landscape and swept up together to form a rising swirl of darkness. Purple and blue lines of lightning energy pulsed in the air cracking like fairy whips. A powerful vortex swirled before them that radiated blackness like rippling waves on a pool of tar. From out of this horror stepped a familiar silhouette.

"Yami!"

Cried Tea through the wind that was slowly dying down. The others looked up too with surprise on their faces as Tea rushed to hug this taller more powerful version of their friend Yugi. He struck a valiant pose as he stepped further into their world.

His looks were almost exactly the same as Yugis, the same belted punk clothes and long blue coat flying in the breeze, the same spiked hair now with golden blond streaks up to the tips of every point and a fingerless dueling glove on his right hand. The heavy gold pyramid of the millennium puzzle hanging around his neck was the same too. The main difference was the height, the tall defiant stance, and the stern serious expression that made his garnet kohl lined eyes narrow with purpose.

Mai noticed the difference right away. This was the version of Yugi that she always faced off against in the dueling arena, the one that meant business. She was never very sure about how the millennium item changed him, nor did she want to know really. It was enough that she could now tell them apart, the short little fourteen year old Yugi who always opened doors for her and picked daisies for her and Tea, and the taller older version who only cared about her newest cards and strategies.

It was not a split personality, they were two different people entirely. Everyone was all so used to seeing Yami that it hardly seemed strange at all. The one Yugis group of friends called Yami was not really a person at all as Tea had explained it to Mai. He was a spirit who lived inside the millennium puzzle, and he could use Yugis body to duel. That was why Mai had called Yugi in the first place. Between the kid and his spirit one of them would know what to do with the eye.

"Wow, way to make an entrance Yami!"

Joey called and Tristan saluted him.

"In my day, shadow portals were the only way to travel. "

Yami gave a cavalier smile, then his face grew serious once more.

" Tea, is everyone alright?"

Yamis deep voice was most welcome in his friends ears as his eyes searched all of them for signs of harm. Tea released him from her embrace and nodded gratefully with a bright smile for him. The shadow portal still hovered menacingly in the background slowly sucking in air and light. Mai stood up from the bench and approached him. Their eyes met anxiously.

"I have something I need you to look after for me."

Mai spoke casually and held out the white cloth for him. She tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Yami immediately changed his expression from one of heroic concern, to something more a kin to shock. He didn't have to peel back the cloth to know what the girl had. He could sense the angry sullen power from a mile away if he had to. He gasped and took a deep breath to recover.

"Mai! Where did you get this?"

He exclaimed raising his voice in an uncharacteristic way. He took it from her hands gently, almost reverently. This particular millennium item was not in a good mood and its power was all too active at the moment. The thing was throwing off so much energy it made him visibly wince.

"We, ah, I found it in the park..."

Mai stammered and pointed behind her vaguely.

He cupped it in his hands as if it were as fragile as an egg. Slowly he curiously lifted one corner of the wrapping. The eye made a terrible sound like the hissing of a cat and it released a spray of sparks at Yami. It actually lashed out at his soul! He felt claws of light rake the very surface of his aura. He threw the thing back into Mais hands where it immediately stopped acting up.

"Do you know what this means!"

His eyes suddenly brightened and he smiled wildly at the group gathered around him.

"Uh, no, wha does it mean??"

Joey scratched his head and looked dumb, which was an easy feat for the messy blond haired teen.

"I can use this to save Pegasus!"

Yami seemed so excited, he practically jumped up and down. No one knew what to say. No one had ever seen him this excited about anything, not even dueling, and that was really quite disturbing. Then his words actually registered with Tristan.

"Wait! What did you just say!? You've got to be kidding!"

Tristan was shocked and he gripped Yami firmly by his arm. He was prepared to knock some sense into him if necessary.

"I said, Tristan, that I have to go and save Pegasus."

Yami glared at him and shrugged off his grip. Then he turned to Mai again and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Come on! There's no time left and I'm going to need some help!"

Yami told her. He began stepping backwards towards his dark portal pulling her with him.

"Wait! Wait! Why do "I" have to go?"

Mai dragged her heels on the gravel and looked at the gaping black hole waiting to swallow her. Her friends were too surprised to offer any help.

"Because this thing likes you!"

Yami waved at the eye she was clutching against her chest just before the blackness engulfed them completely. His irritated tone told her he didn't like doing what he was doing any more than she did. Whether that discomfort was caused by having her along for the ride or if it extended to the saving Pegasus plan, she had no idea.

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	7. Eye of Darkness

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""Yami, please, you have to try, please say you'll try!!""

Yugis imploring voice was at the forefront of Yamis mind where he was watching everything that was going on with nervous anticipation. He was like a climber one rock away from the top of a mountain, one more step would give him his goal, one wrong motion and the boy would loose his balance and there was no telling how far he would fall.

""It's alright Yugi, it's going to be alright, I swear it! I'll bring him back to you, I know I can.""

In his heart Yami was not so sure, but it was no time for thought and second guessing. It was time for action for he could sense the desperation of the millennium eye reaching out to him through the shadows they traveled in.

Yugi had never lost anyone before, and Pegasus had become more than a friend over the last months. He was the closest thing the boy had ever had to a father figure.

Yami only realized this now as he peeked in at Yugi in his soul chamber. The inner room in his mind was brightly decorated like a sunny childs nursery and Yugi was clinging to a stuffed bear as if his life depended on it. An unconscious action that betrayed a world of meaning. It was the blue and white fuzzy bear Yugis real father had given him that first tender Christmas before the icy car accident claimed his life. Yugi barely remembered his real father at all, only his mother and grandfather were there to raise him.

'Ra, give me strength, I have to pull this off. We need this man, both of us, we need him to live. Great Lord Osiris, don't let Pegasus pass the reeds yet!'

Yami prayed silently to his gods and gathered his determination for the task at hand.

Mai stumbled and fell to her knees on what seemed to be a solid hardwood floor. There was no more sign of the shadow portal that had carried them here. She could faintly smell the lemon floor polish and she wanted to bend down further and kiss the firmness of the ground under her.

The last few seconds or minutes or hours, it could have even been days for all she knew, had been full of disorienting blackness with no end in sight. Her stomach was reeling as she felt Yamis strong hands pull her to her feet.

The room was dark, but to her light starved eyes it was almost as if a bright lamp was shining at her. She had to blink and rub at the corners of her eyes until they adjusted and she kept Yamis hand for balance as her nausea subsided.

"Don't ever do that to me again!"

She slapped him across the shoulder. He shot her a dignified glare and walked out into the large room. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings.

The heavy scent of roses clung to the air coming from the narrow open window at Mais back. She glanced out of it down onto an artistically tangled English garden set in the inner courtyard of a castle. Duelist Kingdom castle, she recognized it at once. She reasoned she was in one of the tower rooms.

The moonlight came streaming into the dark medieval space. The stone walls were hung with gold framed paintings and rich tapestries. The sparse furnishings were all carved of heavy spiraled wood. She moved further into the large room following Yami, her heels making a dull noise on the floors. There was another lighter scent, orange and spice, deep and exotic blended with the sweetness of melted beeswax left over from the large burnt down candle sticks placed all around the walls. It smelled of safety and warmth and she was at ease at once. Where had she noticed that particular citrus cologne before?

Mai stopped with her fingers spread in surprise like a dove frozen in flight, her breath catching in her throat as she watched Yami circle around the large four poster bed. He paused and reached into his coat and placed a small red box on the bedside table. He looked at the box and then back over his shoulder at Mai as if the action had some mysterious importance. Then he threw back the thick burgundy velvet curtains that had been obscuring her view.

He was lying under mauve satin sheets with his bandaged head thrown back on a pile of pillows. His white shirt was spread open and his right hand rested over his heart. He was so pale, so icy in the moonbeams, he looked as if he could shatter to pieces at any moment.

Maximilian Pegasus, stricken and senseless. She could hardly believe her own eyes!

Yami turned his hips and sat down on the edge of the bed. His movements were quick and deliberate, but there was also a kind of tenderness about them. The same reverent attitude he had shown for the millennium eye was on his face now as he leaned close over Pegasus. He put his golden head to the mans chest, closed his eyes and listened.

He listened for a long time it seemed to Mai. Then he raised his head and very gently brushed some of the flowing pewter hair to one side. Yami pressed his fingers along the curve of the snow white neck. His brow furrowed slightly and he waited again. Mai watched Yami breathing steadily. To see a spirit breathing was a strange thing. Not to see a man breathing was a very worrisome thing...

"What are you doing?"

Mai finally interrupted.

"Is he dead or what?"

Her voice echoed softly into the folds of the night. She knew she sounded callous, but why should she care anyway? If Pegasus was dying then he was dying and there was nothing to be done about it, the guy had obviously seen the best doctors money could buy.

"No, no, he's not dead. He is between our realm and the next, a coma I think they call it? Yes, but it won't last long. He may be too weak now..."

Yami sounded thoughtful, as if he were calculating something.

"For what? Can't we just leave the eye and get out of here?"

Mai was getting nervous. If Pegasus did kick the bucket now and his guards found them in his room when it happened, they would be in a whole world of trouble.

"No we can not just leave the eye! You can't leave millennium items lying around for any fool to find! We have to try to give it back to him, only now, it will either save him or kill him instantly. If I kill him, if I kill Pegasus, I don't know if I..."

He raised his haunted crimson eyes to Mai and she got the distinct feeling he had been forced to kill before.

"It's ok Yami, we'll all understand. But you're here to try. I don't know why you want him alive, but if he's going anyway, there's nothing to loose."

She offered him the eye again but she was too far away from the bed for him to take it from her. His grateful smile told her she was right.

"Alright then! You give me the eye and then get on the bed and hold him down."

Yami ordered her with enthusiasm. He quickly unbound the bandages across Pegasus eyes.

"Wait a minute, you want me to what?"

Mai took a step backwards. She recoiled from the hollow empty eye socket, smooth and healed but ghoulish non the less.

"Mai! Please, we don't have a second to spare!"

Maybe it was the urgency in Yamis voice, maybe it was simple pity for another human being, or maybe it was the beautiful silky alabaster skin that called to her. Mai immediately crawled up onto the wide mattress and handed Yami the eye. Then she slid both her hands down lightly onto Pegasus chest and moved them up to finger the hard sweep of his collar bone under his shirt.

"Is this ok?" She looked up at Yami blushing ever so slightly. He had already torn the fabric off the eye and had his own eyes closed in concentration. He was chanting something under his breath in a language Mai knew she would not understand.

The relic began to glow brightly, so brightly Mai had to turn her face away. She could swear the designs the light traced in the darkness as it sparked looked like golden roses. Her long mermaid hair was tearing around her face from the force of it all.

Yamis aura began to glow brightly as well, a strong ruby light surrounded him and the luminous millennium puzzle levitated away from his chest. The eye of Horus glowed opalescent on his forehead, symbol of his third eye and focal point for his spiritual powers.

"Now, hold him!"

Yami called into her ears and into her mind. Mai pressed down more firmly on the cool motionless body beneath her. Beside her Yami wielded the millennium eye and pressed it to Pegasus skull. Shadi, the keeper of the millennium items back in Egypt, had a far easier time testing it on people when the eye was still dormant. Now that it had been awakened Yami struggled to control the wild raw power that was being unleashed.

It was deadly and enraged, like a vicious lion being loosed from a cage. This was so different from his millennium puzzle, the strongest soul could not control this savage magic! He could barely comprehend how much energy was in the thing, it seemed unlimited. No wonder it drove all its would be masters completely mad!

If it brought Pegasus back, would he be insane? It was too late to stop now. It took all Yamis strength to keep the eye under control, to keep it from turning on him with its unmeasurable destructive force. He tried to channel the power, direct it, imbue it with one single desperate purpose.

"" Heal! ""

He spread his fingers wide, holding it still against its master for half a breath. Then, the eye took over.

There was a great blast of golden light, more intense than a flash from the sun itself and Yami was blown clear across the room by it. Luckily the stone wall that stopped his flight was well padded with a pastel quilted wall hanging. He staggered to his feet feeling drained and panting for breath. His magical defenses were completely shattered and the energies of his puzzle were greatly depleted by deflecting the blow.

He called out to Mai. The girl had her head buried on Pegasus chest. She seemed afraid but she was still fulfilling her purpose. Yami brushed himself off and approached the bed again.

Yami had done his part, the worst for him was over, but Pegasus struggle was only beginning. He pressed his hands onto the wasted body along with Mai. He knew from a brief flash of memory what was surely coming next, and it was not going to be pleasant.

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	8. Peace or Pain

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Sweet daggers of white hot pain threading molten ribbons through his skull. He welcomed it greedily. It had to be his end. Familiar needles of fire and ice that left him tingling beyond agony...

This was wrong! This was not his death, this was the overwhelming embrace of the millennium eye! How could this be happening? Where was his release? Where was Cecilia!?

Another sharp blast of merciless golden power coursed through his body. A wave that crashed down all around him battering its way into his very soul. An animal scream clawed its way from his lungs. Copper taste bleeding into his mouth and bile burning the back of his throat. He gasped wildly for breath like a drowning man or a newborn child.

For a tiny instant he caught a glimpse of his room through the fiery slashing, his mortal eye opened briefly before his head snapped back and his chest was tortured by violent convulsions. Someone was there holding him, two people...

His limbs trembled and twitched as the pain slowly brushed across his temple and melted down his cheeks and throat with all the tender love of a panther licking meat off a bone. The rivers of energy caressed every nerve and settled under his skin with a soft warm liquid flow as hot as newly spilled blood.

The old terrors rose in him like a cobra flaring its hood. He plunged back into the darkness the sharp suffering had released him from. Images of death, misery, blood, always so much blood! The world was awash in a crimson flood. The eye showed him so much despair. The images shredded their way mercilessly into his mind with claws of light tearing away any and all defenses.

Calmly and with eternal patience he reached down deep, into his heart, into his soul. He could not help but respond to the pain the eye held. It was his nature and he could not deny who he was even if it went against every goal.

He reached for the pure blue light of moonlit lakes and the softness of each sun kissed dawn. He filled his mind with hope and light and beauty, the passion of new possibilities. He did not bother to sooth the hostile angry force of the eye. He met it head on and accepted it showing it everything he was. And it, in turn, accepted him.

His lust for life flowed into the eye and it responded like a joyous puppy. It lapped up his memories and the good of the world hungrily and in return it strengthened him. It was the force of destruction and he held the power of creation, the power lying dormant in all of humanity.

Pegasus wound his calm blue aura around the sullen energy like a pair of wings to shield and comfort its eager longing and pain. The pain turned to pleasure, to a deep smoky warmth that settled around his bones like a thick blanket. There was comfort in every molecule he possessed. The eye was at peace now, he brought it balance, he brought it life.

The eye contained one present goal; to heal its master. It was not a goal he had set it to. He caused the eye to pause in its task.

For a fleeting moment Pegasus really was afraid. It was not the power he feared. Through the ages it had always been a part of him. What he feared now was life and the suffering it brought to those around him. There really was so much pain in the world, and in this life he had actually been the cause of some of it. That thought alone was enough to destroy him. If he kept going, would there ever be a way to make things right? Could he really go on without Cecilia? He could stop the eye from healing him, he could use it to end his life right now...

"Pegasus! Hold on, please! You have to come back to us! You can't give up, Pegasus?" The voice was strong but pleading. It seemed to come from a great distance away. He tried to clear his mind and listen, who was it?

It was Yami, it had to be. Only he was strong enough to set a command for the eye to follow.

"Pegasus? Can you hear me? Can you..."

The shadows suddenly flared in Pegasus mind cutting off the young Pharaohs words. The millennium eye sensed powerful magic nearby, he could feel it hotly beating against his faltering breaths. A portal to the shadow realm was forming close by. He had to warn Yami!

Pegasus tried to fight his way to consciousness, he felt like he was buried under a mountain of debris and he was too weak to shift a single pebble. If his ruined body wouldn't respond at least now his faithful eye would. It redoubled its healing efforts strengthened by his urgent will. He deftly sent his message vaulting into Yamis mind, past all the intricate mental shields and defenses without damaging a single one.

""My Pharaoh ! There's a portal coming, look out!""

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	9. Siren Heart

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"Pegasus? Can you hear me? Can you give us some sign that you're alright? I know you can hear me, I can sense your soul is awake!"

Yami was kneeling on the bed beside the relenting pillows and he clutched Pegasus fine boned hand. The room was eerily silent and there seemed to be a heavy feeling in the air like the charge that builds before a storm. There was absolutely no movement now from Pegasus, he could have been made of marble he was so cold and pale.

This was not a good sign Yami thought to himself. He didn't want to scare Yugi or Mai anymore but he was beginning to fear the worst. Usually that much power would have some positive result by now. The eye should have started to heal Pegasus, unless Yami had upset some sort of balance by interfering and trying to command it. What if Pegasus had become insane and was waiting to attack him? Yami reached down and wiped away the thin river of crimson that etched the corner of Pegasus mouth. He was certain the man was alive.

Mai looked up at him silently with tearing eyes, her hands trembling as she withdrew them from their station. The girl was dealing with her own shock now. So much magic and pain. It was a hard lesson for someone raised on fairy tales where fictional spells cost nothing from the heros they save. Yami could see the realization shifting quickly in her expression. She was strong enough to handle it.

""Yami, he's going to be alright... isn't he?""

Yugi asked in a small hesitant voice inside Yamis mind. The Pharaoh had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that something had gone wrong. Something bad was about to happen, something really bad. Yami could sense power building in the room, dark vicious power and he let Pegasus hand fall.

""My Pharaoh! There's a portal coming, look out!""

The fluid velvet voice came thundering into his mind like a sea tossed wave. It surprised Yami enough that he jumped up off the bed and spun around to face the direction the warning swept him towards. He stood at the end of the bed facing the dark walls searching for a target to launch an attack against. He was so startled at having his mental defenses breached he assumed he was being attacked by Pegasus. His hand automatically reached for his dueling deck and the card of the Dark Magician.

It was Yugi who made him pay attention to the meaning of the message.

""Look out Yami! Somebodies coming in here the same way we did!""

Yugi exclaimed just as Yami summoned the Dark Magician into the middle of the room. The familiar sorcerer appeared rising up from a misty rotating grey portal in the floor. At the same moment the shadows began to gather at the far wall. Electricity arched brightly across the space for a moment, glinting brightly along the iris colored overlapping armor of the tall monster warrior. The magicians heavy cloak flew in the wind from the powerful shadow vortex that was forming and he leaned on his staff, emerald eyes glaring his opposition at it.

The Pharaoh was not certain who his enemy was. He looked back over his shoulder at Pegasus who was still immobile. At least he could cross one person off the list. He smiled gratefully to himself and to his friend who was probably still watching his mind.

Mai was starring fixedly at the Dark Magician as if he was something out of a nightmare. She was very familiar with duel monsters, she played against this particular one all the time in the dueling arena. She had even played against very convincing holograms of him, but this, this was not a hologram! She could see the sweat trickling down the monsters brow under his heavy silver edged helmet as he bent his head away from the building portal.

Mai felt trapped and useless surrounded by such strong and threatening powers. She hoped Yami could control his monsters outside of the dueling field as well as he could during a match.

The winds were becoming so forceful they threatened to overturn the furniture, including the bed! Mai yelped as the bed curtains billowed around her and the thick wood began to rock. She threw her head down over Pegasus again.

Yami quickly called on his puzzle to repel the effects of the portal just as a shockingly bright fireball burst through the gateway.

The ghoulish grin of a Hinotama Soul monster exploded into the room. The thing was a blazing round ball of fire five feet across with black smoking slits for eyes and a mouth. For an instant it hovered there in mid air throwing off a stream of foul brimstone that surely blackened the high ceiling. The flames hissed and popped throwing out a wave of heat that threatened to set fire to furniture and wall hangings. Mai could feel the blasting inferno of the creatures wrath and it was leaving spots in her eyes to look at it. The Dark Magician was standing tall between Yami and the Hinotama. Without hesitating Yami gave the order to attack.

"Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!"

He yelled. It was just like in the game, he was as confident as ever. The Hinotama charged at the sorcerer as he raised his staff. The fire ball had less power, but it had speed on its side. It rammed into magician and knocked him backwards with a loud hiss of flames. He staggered back, but he did not fall.

Yami stood his ground with conviction and a smile on his face. Dark Magicians armor had been melted at the front yet he continued to meet the monster head on and leveled his staff at the offending fire ball. A great blast of dark violet energy pulsed from his weapon. Hinotama screeched and tried to flee at the last second but the power hit it squarely and it disappeared in a roaring ball of coal dense smoke.

""Pharaoh, the portal!""

Pegasus warned Yami again, but this time the warning came a split second too late. While Yami watched his Dark Magician finishing off the pyro beast the shadow portal had shifted its position to the left wall. A huge ominous black shape sprung from the darkness and pounced on Yami from the side. His deck of cards went flying all over the room. A sharp slicing crunch made Mai scream in abject terror.

It was a Man eater bug. A metallic green and black beetle the size of a small horse and it was gripping Yami around his waist with its huge jagged mandibles. It was nothing like the benign insect usually featured on duel monster cards. It reared up on its hind legs and swung its head like a rhinoceros as Yami pounded on the monsters tiny armored head with his fists.

He couldn't make it loosen its grip! He tried to blast it with the energy directly from his puzzle but there was not enough left. All his attack did was enrage the monster further and it crushed into him even more.

The Dark Magician spun around and raised his staff to strike. The strangled cries of his master made him pause.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

A venomous voice oozed from the portal to scold the sorcerer. Yami Bakura slowly stepped into the room. He glanced quickly over at Mai and Pegasus out of the corner of his eye as if daring them to attack him. He couldn't sense any power coming from Pegasus, the Pharaoh must have failed.

Bakuras long white hair and black clothes made him seem like a teenage version of the reaper. He smiled sweetly up at Yami and clapped his hands applauding the show.

"Good work my insect, good work. I have to thank Yami too for his arrogance. I would never have captured two millennium items at once if it weren't for that!"

Bakuras insane laughter swirled around the room. He had planned his entrance perfectly. Yami was too drained from trying to save Pegasus to put up any kind of fight, and Pegasus, well if he was not as dead as he looked right now he soon would be. It was a genius plan, one that had sprung from a careless mistake, but a genius plan none the less!

"Bakura! What are you doing?! You let him go!"

Mai yelled at Bakura. She could not understand what was going on. The Bakura she knew who hung out with Yugi and his group was usually so sweet and shy!

"Oh shut up you slut! I saw you in the park with Tea! Be a good little whore and I might let you keep your tongue for other things!"

The ring glowed menacingly at her. This was definitely not the Bakura she knew! Mai was completely disgusted, but things were starting to fit together in her mind. Bakura must have an evil spirit living in that ring the way Yugi had a good spirit living in his puzzle. Poor Bakura, how could she get that thing away from him? She could see a small red pool beginning to form on the oak floor under Yami. All the color had drained from his features and he looked like he was about to faint. Someone had to do something fast!

The room instantly vanished for Mai and all she could see was one thing. The calm, collected and impeccably neat features of Maximilian Pegasus starred into her. The scent of him filled her. She had always had a thing for perfumes and she recognized his scent at once, it was there in her mind as strongly as his presence; warm bergamot and deep cinnamon spice.

""Please forgive my intrusion Miss Valentine.""

His voice, that hypnotic soothing voice commanded all her awareness and blocked out everything else.

"" I need you to do something important. The writing desk by the window, in the right hand drawer, there are soul cards. I will hide your movements. Please bring me one.""

The Dark Magician moved closer to Bakura, his glass green eyes slyly gauging his opponent and weighing the situation. There was nothing he could do at the moment except draw attention and that was exactly what he was going to do. He tossed his billowing cape around one shoulder and aimed his staff at Bakura.

"Don't even try it! One wrong move and I'll have him cut in half! One half for Yugi, one half for Yami, both of them dead!"

Bakura shouted at the sorcerer then he giggled to himself.

"Now back off!"

Bakura held up his ring and the monster recoiled a little but still stood ready with his staff held in both hands in front of his chest.

"You'll never, get my puzzle! You'll have to kill me first!"

Yami gasped. He could barely grip the jaws that were closing on him with his weakening hands. He had already lost the feeling in his legs. He knew he had to get out of this, he had to get Yugi out of this!

"Actually, that was the idea. But first I want to watch you squirm a little. Maybe I'll rip out old Peggies eye again so you can see him die!"

Bakura took a few purposefully heavy steps towards the bed, a slow evil smile spreading across his face.

'This was better than before, Pegasus will remember it this time, he will remember that I'm the one who beat him, the one who truly deserves his power!'

Bakura paused and looked up at the Pharaoh again.

" How many times have you seen him die over the ages trying to save your sorry ass? At least this time it was a bit of a change. He actually bought himself a back bone and challenged you!"

"Don't touch him! Don't... let him go in peace! You don't... have to do... any of this! We can share the power...listen to me!"

Yami tried to stall, he tried to give Pegasus more time. Bakura spat in his face and turned his back. The master of illusions was surely watching everything, planning from the depths of stillness. Yami had to give Pegasus enough time to heal, to get his magic under control so he could defend himself. If Pegasus survived he would make sure this evil one never got his hands on the puzzle, he would protect Mai, he would do all he could for Yugi...

""Yugi, I need you to leave your soul room and go into mine in the puzzle. I need you to wait for me there.""

""Yami, what's going on? Why won't you let me see?""

""Trust me, my light.""

He tried to be gentle and reassuring as he herded the young one into the only safety he could offer. Yami shuddered with pain and braced his arms on the impaling serrated spikes. He glared out at the evil one through foggy sweat stung vision.

Bakura had climbed up on the bed now and was toying with Pegasus hair. He had a knife in his hand and he turned it slowly so it flashed in the cold moonlight. He chuckled lowly and dragged the side of the blade along Pegasus cheek. A faint line of scarlet followed his motion. He was only getting started.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

Pegasus asked with a lions smile on his lips. Bakura jerked back. The amber brown eye was open and questioning him, drilling into his mind and soul so intensely he could barely think, let alone react. Claws of light raked through his mental defenses shattering his thoughts before they could form. The eye was coming for his soul! He felt a great force of power welling up all around. There was nothing he could do to stand against this, it was like a force of nature. The shadows of the room grew tighter and blocked out the moon.

In the dim half light from the glowing of his ring Bakura saw Mai standing beside the bed. Her pale blond hair haloed her angry features like an angel of wrath. She held out a white card between two slender fingers and passed it down to Pegasus hand.

'Oh, shit!'

Bakura thought. It was a trap!

"I'll kill you!"

Bakura snarled and tried to lunge down at Pegasus wielding the knife. His attack was cut off by a great blast of golden light. His body flew through the air and crunched against the far wall of the room. He tried to rise to his feet full of rage but only managed to crawl onto his knees.

"No! I won't let you..."

Another blinding flash of golden light. Bakura reached for his deck at the last second, a thin tearing sound was heard.

When the darkness of the room receded Bakura was lying unconscious on the floor, two halves of a torn duel monster card in his hand.

"Pegasus? Is he dead, did you..."

Mai asked at once. She didn't want to brace herself for another attack, she wanted it to be over.

"No, I have him right here."

Pegasus said. He handed her the soul card that now featured the picture of the treacherous spirit of the tomb robber on it. Mai helped Pegasus sit up against the pillows. His gaze was fixed on Yami and the Man Eater Bug. The Dark Magician stood guard before his master but there was nothing he could do. Attacking the monster that held Yami would only make its jaws close tighter.

"Yami! Oh my god, how, what are we going to do?"

She was crying now at the sight of him. The terrible insect shifted it weight from one leg to another and rustled its leathery wings under its carapace. It smelled of rotten cabbages and dead seaweed on the beach.

"Just find, a way, to get me down!"

Yami ordered them through clenched teeth before he finally passed out. The Man Eater Bug remained motionless as he slumped over its head.

Pegasus didn't hesitate at all. He knew the evil Bakura had managed to tear up the monster card for Man Eater Bug, it could not be recalled into its card or given further commands. He also knew he could not destroy the creature with a trap or magic card without taking Yami with it. A direct attack with another monster was also out of the question because Yami would be hurt worse or killed. There was only one way he could see to get Yami and the insect apart.

Pegasus reached out his hand and his golden eye began to glow hotly. The cards from his deck spiraled out of their box on the bed side table filling the air.

"Dark Illusion Ritual! I summon Relinquished!"

Pegasus felt the familiar pull of power leaving him to enter his monster. He also felt the pull of the horrible pain in Yami. He could never deny anyone who was suffering. He sent what energy he could to his friend at the same time, it wasn't much, but it would hold him through this next step.

Mai gasped at the size of Relinquished. She had never seen it before, never dueled against it, but she had heard accounts and none of them prepared her for this! It loomed up out of a portal in the floor, The top of it nearly scraped the ceiling. A solid menacing creature with blue armor veined in phosphorescent white. It had long clawed hands and a single lime eye that swiveled on a telescoping stock. It fanned a pair of fin like panels on its back as it floated legless in space. The monster made no noise, had no scent. But it was watching, taking account of its surroundings in its own strange way. It bobbed its eye and flexed its claws at Pegasus in a sort of oddly characterized bow.

"Now, attack!"

Pegasus commanded. Mai grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait! You can't!"

She looked into his face searching for intent. Was he as evil as Bakura? Was he insane? There was something else there, something she didn't expect to find. Compassion.

The Dark Magician moved in front of Relinquished and raised his staff. He tried to attack the huge creature but it sucked him inside of it with a sparkling whirlwind force.

'Well that was a waste of effort.' Pegasus sighed to himself. He was beginning to feel tired, if there were such a thing as being more worn out than he already was. The eye had plenty of power left, but it couldn't heal him faster than he was using up his strength.

"Relinquished, absorb Man Eater Bug!"

Pegasus rallied his strength again and directed his monster so that it would not use the power of the Dark Magician it had just absorbed to destroy the insect. Relinquished obediently did as it was asked. Mai did not protest again, even though it was frightening to see Yami disappear inside a monster.

"Excellent work Relinquished! Very well done!"

Pegasus smiled at his creature and it turned to him and blinked its little eye.

"Now, please release my friend Yami to me. Gently now, you're very good."

Relinquished bowed over the bed and the purple orb on its chest sent out a flickering ray of light. Yami materialized from it sprawled out across Pegasus lap.

"Thank-you Relinquished. Now, return."

He said with a voice that was half a sigh of relief. The monster disappeared and all of Pegasus floating cards returned themselves to their box. A flash of light showed that the Dark Magician also returned to his card somewhere on the floor.

"Uhn, Pegasus?"

Yami groaned but he didn't open his eyes. There were huge gashes all along his chest and deep puncture wounds at the sides of his waist. His blue coat was soaked with a deeper color. The smell of blood made Mai want to be sick.

"Please, We have to get him to a hospital!"

Mai insisted. She had a sinking feeling in her chest. He didn't look like he would make it that far. She watched as Pegasus ran his hands delicately over the sticky wounds. He had such a sad distant expression on his face, as if he had lived through this before.

He gingerly moved the sweat soaked blond hair off of Yamis pain creased forehead and pressed his palm against the hot cheek. He raised the young mans shoulders into his arms and held him, watching the ragged breathing and matching its pace with his own. Slowly, and ever so tenderly Pegasus cradled Yamis head and bent down over him. Their lips met softly as he breathed his energy into the injured body beneath him. A light golden glow surrounded their items. He gave all he could, every scrap he could stand to channel from the eyes well of power. He gave until he thought he would loose himself in the flow of power and the euphoria of emptiness washed upon him like warm sea foam.

""My strength is your strength, my Lord Pharaoh.""

Pegasus thought into Yamis mind in his heavily accented Egyptian.

It was the northern accent, Yami recognized it. He saw a vision of Pegasus as he had been in the beginning, the long white cotton robes of a diplomat flowing behind him with his waist length silver hair and the amber jeweled collar of a foreign Prince. His exotic pale features and his passionate spice brown eyes. They had been friends and allies once. Teachers and students alike in the things they exchanged. That was before they had been forced to fight side by side like brothers on the battle field, before Pegasus was wounded taking a blow meant for him and lost his eye, before he was restored by the magic of the high priest Seth and battled with all the power of the shadow realm in service of the Pharaohs throne. Yami knew him now, he remembered, and he welcomed his friend with all his heart.

Pegasus released Yami back onto the folds of the bed. He fell back weakly onto the pillows as Yamis aura glowed red and his outline disappeared with a flash of light into the millennium puzzle. Yugi was left lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling. Not a hair on his head was out of place and he was completely unharmed.

"Yugi! You're ok! How's Yami? "

Mai shook him by the shoulder and he blinked several times. Then he sat up and looked at her with his wide amethyst eyes.

"I think he's fine, he says he needs to rest."

Yugi smiled innocently. There was always something contagious about the way Yugi smiled. Mai was dead tired and wondering how she had survived this night at all, but she smiled right back at him and reached over the bed to give the little guy a hug.

"Master Pegasus?"

Yugi asked with sudden anxiety in his voice. The man had a blank expression on his face and he was staring off into the distance as if the world no longer existed. He was breathing in wispy gasps and Yugi grabbed up his hand and squeezed it. At first there was no response at all and Mai frowned to herself but Yugi was persistent.

" Pegasus? It's me Yugi, I'm here now, and Yami's fine! He says you saved him and Bakura too!"

Yugi smiled at the man thinking he could get a response. Nothing came and Yugis eyes began to fill with tears. Something was wrong, and he didn't know what.

" Can you see her?"

Pegasus whispered. Yugi looked at Mai and she shrugged.

"Sure, Mais here too. We're all ok, right?"

Yugi asked again. Pegasus didn't even look at him.

"Can you see her? My Cecilia...she's beautiful..."

Yugis heart leapt to his throat. Cecilia, that name was like a death toll to him. Every time Pegasus talked about Cecilia there was such pain in his voice. Had Yami been right? Was there only one thing that would take that pain away?

"Pegasus, don't do this, don't leave me like this..."

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	10. Yellow Roses, Crimson Pain

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She was sitting peacefully in the center of a wide life green meadow. Her long sugary cherry blossom dress pooled all around her. Dark golden hair was like a beacon, it reflected the light from a sunless blue sky in rich waves of color. Cornflower eyes laughed beneath long feathered lashes. There was no humility in her pose, only child like naivety as she leaned over the grass in her low cut neckline and picked a bouquet of daises to pile in her lap.

Her small fingers began linking the stems in a chain and he watched as her sweet pink lips pressed together under her concentration. She was like a perfect doll. It jolted him to see her. To really see her after so long. She was only a girl, and he could no longer remember what it felt like to be so young and unaware. To be so happy.

Suddenly she looked at him, her sapphire eyes wide with apprehension. She looked right into him yet the innocence remained on her face. He watched her silently mouth his name. There was no sound, no soft chiming voice. There was a shadow of sadness on her face as she realized he couldn't hear her.

He didn't even try to speak, knowing the vision could fade at any moment, knowing he could loose her again so easily. He wanted to watch her, see her again, take in the beauty and the light that always made his world seem brighter as long as she was near. He wanted to be with her so badly it hurt him, he needed her, he needed his soul mate!

She shook her head at him and waved him away. She threw a flower at him as if to strike him! What was this?! He drew back in utter shock!

She knows, he thought, she knows what I've done and she hates me for it. His heart sank so far it was like a rock crushing him into the ground. A storm of darkness loomed above the horizon threatening to draw him in. He truly did deserve his fate, he deserved to be alone. But she quieted herself and again stared at him. He could not deny her Aquarius gaze. She shook her pretty head slowly and sadly. She looked down at her hands on her lap and back at him. There was a small smile on her face when she raised her head again.

""Thank-you, for taking care of me, for loving me, even though you're not mine. You could never be mine...""

Her thoughts stumbled awkwardly into his mind, even the familiar tone was like a child to him. A flood of warm tears caressed his cheek as her gentle touch entered his mind. What did she mean? Was she blaming herself for leaving him? It was absurd...Why wasn't he hers? They were married! They were soul mates! Weren't they!?

Pegasus froze. He looked at her again, he looked at Cecilia. It was the same girl, the same beautiful blue eyed girl he had become friends with in his childhood. She had been there when his family died, she had been there when he needed her. When ever the world threatened to overwhelm him with its pain she was there. They were only in their late teens when they married, when she died. He loved her, he had loved her... did he love her now?

""Maxie, you have to go! You can't come here sweetie, you can't! I won't let you stay! It's not right. It was a lovely dream we had, but that's all it was...a dream. You were good to me, you were always so nice, and I loved you with all my heart, but...you're more than what we had, you always were. I understand that now and I'm sorry...""

There was a look of such longing across her porcelain visage that it drove a chill into his heart. His thoughts spun wildly with confusion. What was she trying to tell him? What was she trying to say??

"" You have to go!!""

Again she waved at him with her hands as if he was only a fly she was trying to shoo away.

""Cecilia?!""

Pegasus thought desperately at his wife, at the perfect candy sweet girl he had called a wife. She was so young, so pure, how could he have been so blind as to think she could ever love something like him? He was a monster who was scarred through the ages by magic and death.

The field of wild flowers was washed in a veil of red before his eyes and he saw flashes beneath the grass of grisly white bones. This was his world, if he tried to join Cecilia he would tear down her peaceful heaven. No, he was right the first time. He deserved to be alone, he deserved to be destroyed. His soul was a danger to everyone and everything.

He backed away from Cecilia, he could no longer stand her too precious beauty.

""I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never wanted to hurt you.""

He shattered the gateway of her vision in his mind. He watched it dissipate into a million time tinted shards that he vowed he would never try to retrieve. It was time to end it. It was time to go past death.

The darkness, the shadows, the pulsing crimson energy that was blacker than black came at him now. It swelled all around him like a ravenous ocean. He welcomed it with all his weary mind. The heaviness of despair clung to him weighing his lungs with lead. He took one last account of his body, his mind, his soul. He paused on the brink of the abyss and felt who he was.

His long silver hair flowed out behind him and his white cotton robes shone against the starless expanse. The gold and amber Egyptian collar and the yellow rose tucked into the burgundy silk sash around his waist. The yellow rose...the pale yellow rose. She was dead, the one who gave him that token. She was the first of his victims. He had watched her die horribly, he had felt her die in his heart, and there was nothing he could have done to save her. Her violet eyes fixed on his until the light left them forever.

The sharpness of that dusty long past moment cut him so keenly it obscured even the power of the fate he had summoned. It was too much. He could not cry out it hit him so deep, a dagger of ice exploding at his core. He stumbled blindly, crawling towards the precipice of oblivion.

The thin power of the eye reached out to him and he gathered it close. This time it would win and he would take it with him into the void.

He felt the bright melody of life softly flickering through him. The tempo strung with morning dew and dessert heat, of mountain vistas and soft forest paths. He turned his back on that siren song. Too many times he had listened to it, too many times the fragrant blossom of life had hidden its thorns from him only to lash him senseless in the next heartbeat.

The same pain repeated over and over, the same yellow rose turning crimson. Death followed his power like the shadow of a vulture. It didn't matter what he did, they always died because of him, and he could never bring them back! He could never make it right! No one else would suffer by his hand again, never again! The pain had to stop! He had to make it stop!... He would make it stop.

Pegasus rallied his strength and stood up tall in front of the void. His aura glowed a soft twilight blue. One last breath, one last heartbeat, the shining wind of eternity howling around him. He closed his eyes, threw his head back, and let go. It was simply that easy. For an instant he felt himself falling...

""Tashum! Brother no!""

A pair of strong hands suddenly gripped him around his chest from behind. The voice was Yamis. He would know it anywhere. He turned his head and looked at the Pharaoh, his face as calm and dull as the void.

""This is not your concern my Lord. You need rest.""

He felt the strain coming from the other younger man. The Pharaoh was always too stubborn to acknowledge his limits. He felt the grip loosen and Yami looked at him cautiously. He knew he was having his sanity gauged.

""What are you trying to do here?! Tashum, I remember you, that's what you were called in the beginning. I remember who you were to me. We were friends, good friends! I can't let you,... it looked like you were going to...""

The bright garnet eyes narrowed at Pegasus questioningly.

""If you truly know who I am, then you know what this is for me. Let go. Brother, please. Let me go.""

There was no sign of pleading in the mans face as he spoke. No emotion at all. Yami frowned with concern. It was as if there was nothing left in Pegasus, he seemed so cold and hollow. His eyes, Yami looked into the mans eyes and they were as dull as ash.

This was worse than he had thought! This was no longer about love or being reunited with Cecilia. This was about pain. The Tashum he knew would give until he had nothing left, and then through some clever miracle find a way to give even more. His love of life had been unending and he never failed the call of another who was suffering. After so many life times had the well finally run dry? Yami gasped with the sudden realization and he grabbed the other taller man by his shoulders and shook him.

""I will not let you destroy your own soul!""

He yelled. There was no reaction. It was as if he were talking to an impassive stone wall.

""Tashum! Pegasus! Listen to me! You can not give up! Come back with me, come back to little Yugi. He needs you!""

Yami knew he could not keep his hold in Pegasus mind for much longer, his strength was already wavering. He kept searching the mans face for some flicker of emotion but there was absolutely nothing there. Pegasus was worse than dead already. His soul had given up.

Yami was determined to try one last thing. He took Pegasus by the arm and tried to lead him back to safer ground within his mind. Somewhere there was light, a memory, a thought, anything to distract him for a while.

Yami pulled but he could not make the man budge an inch. He leaned even harder, he felt weak with the humor of the situation. He should be able to pick up Pegasus, in reality he was an invalid right now. Yami strained harder and felt a sharp jolt of pain in his side. He doubled over and wrapped his arms around his chest.

""Gah! I forgot, so am I !""

He winced and tried to breath normally but his injuries had found him. He could not keep his mental spirit form and his spirit body separate for much longer.

The melody of life grew stronger in Pegasus along with the rush of pain from Yami. He could feel every twinge as if it were his own and the pain called to him. It called to everything he was. There was no denying it.

No. No, he would not! He had nothing left to give. Nothing. He had turned his back on life for good. He would not reach out to tempt the cruel universe again, to bend the uncaring fates, sway the savage whims of nature and creation...

But his heart kept whispering along to the tune life played. His mind, his body, his soul were all ready for the void. Yet his heart kept singing right along, feeling the pain, thrilling at the pleasures that were promised. This is who you are, it sang. The void will end you, but the pain will still be here. The pain will be in them when you're gone. The pain will still find them if you stay, but maybe...

""Yami? Are you alright?""

The soft warm tones of Pegasus voice melted into Yamis mind. He felt the soothing hands on his wounds again and the small river of energy that flowed from them. Yami looked up into Pegasus face as the man leaned protectively over him, the cast of endless compassion lit his eye like the gentle glow of the morning star. A quiet smile passed his lips as he watched Yami grow stronger. It was the same old Tashum.

""Where... do you get it all from?!""

Yami whispered in amazement. Pegasus blinked at him in surprise.

""What?""

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	11. Code Green

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Croquet leaned against the sleek black finish of the car door. He shook his head sadly to himself. He watched the jet as it taxied back to the rosy lights of the round aluminum hanger at the end of the dark runway. Croquet had never understood magic. He didn't really want to. It made him uneasy and in his opinion that was a good thing. He was not a man with any desire to acquire that sort of power or the problems that went with it.

The stalwart bodyguard had watched Yugi transform his short fourteen year old frame into a much taller body that was hardened by power and authority. The column of wind and light had startled Croquet alerting all his instincts at once. He had nearly pulled his gun, but then the familiar shadow vortex formed behind Yugi who disappeared into it. Croquet knew enough to clamp down on his reactions and got out of the way.

Croquet sighed heavily. He knew that little Yugi was in for a rough life. Magic always had its price. He learned that from watching Master Pegasus use his powers. Every time a shadow portal was called and the Master disappeared into it he came back looking like hell warmed over. There were terrible things in the shadow realm, things even Pegasus brave soul would not speak of. Yet he had often made those trips saying it was necessary for him to understand himself and his monsters better.

The shadow realm was somewhere Croquet could never go. He could never protect the Master from it. Croquet had failed in his duty. He realized this with a dark pain in his heart but there was no way he could have stood against the magic.

Thinking back he realized it had surely haunted Pegasus through his eye, slowly driving him mad. There were so many times he had watched helplessly as Pegasus painted in his studio. The Master went without eating or sleeping for days, being driven by his visions and the power of the eye until he would collapse onto the floor with exhaustion. Nothing, no threat on earth could have made him stop.

The power used Pegasus to gain a foothold in this reality. Croquet knew each card was like a gateway for the monster it held. It was a deadly obsession and there was nothing any mortal man could do against it. Croquet wondered silently if magic and millennium items were meant to be used by men. If there was a reason behind who received this strange power and who did not, and why it existed at all.

Again he thought of Yugi Moto. Perhaps magic itself was not good or bad, perhaps it was up to the people who used it. It was impossible to think Yugi would use his monsters to harm anyone. The Master had taught him the rules of dueling and the honor that went with it. Pegasus himself would never have called a monster outside of the dueling field unless he could control it completely. He used his eye many times to read minds, but in a way he already had that power long before his trip to Egypt. The eye only heightened his abilities and let him experience more than the shallow thoughts and feelings of the mortal realm.

His had been a short life, but one filled with more awareness than any human had a right to. That was the terrible balance that had been struck. Croquet had known Maximilian since he was an oddly silver haired boy and he honestly could not remember a time when he thought about Pegasus growing old. In a strange way he had always expected it would end this way. He had known the vulnerable introverted child with his mischievous sense of humor would never truly grow up. He loved his art too much, he loved playing games too much, he loved life and it had broken him.

"God, twenty four years old... What a waste! What a god dam waste of a life! All because he was a little different than the rest of us..."

Croquet swore angrily to himself, his breath steaming hotly into the cool night. He felt like he was losing more than a friend. Pegasus had been like a member of his own family. He smashed his fist down on the hood of the car. Life really was cruel, he felt it so thickly he could almost taste the iron of it on his tongue. It seemed that every time things had been going well for Pegasus, something came and crushed him down more.

His younger sister was killed in a fire, then the boys best friend fell from the school roof, his parents died in a horrible boating accident and his uncle who had caused it committed suicide, then Cecilia his young bride, the very last person he had close to him became ill and perished, and finally the eye took over his life. For someone who apparently had every advantage in life, the Master did not have a very good batting average as far as friends and family went.

And yet Pegasus had never spoken a single word of complaint. He had always accepted things with the same sad world worn smile, picked up the shattered pieces of his life and gone on with as much cheerfulness and kindness as ever. On the outside he became cool and detached but on the inside he had never changed. The fearless optimism always slipped fire into his smile. He had developed many layers of defense against the outside world, but it was only a matter of time before it all caught up with him.

Croquet remembered the day the Master called him into the sick room. He knew something was up. It was the day all the doctors were sent packing. He still remembered Maximillians voice. How eerily calm and accepting it was when he said those three little words.

"What is it Master Pegasus? Do you need me to bring you something..."

He had asked the Master in his usual amiable servant style. The pewter haired man raised his hand in the air, a timeless graceful gesture commanding silence like a conductor in an orchestra. It was also a signal that their formal boundaries were dropped. He was wearing a long burgundy dressing robe and slippers. His head bowed painfully as he leaned by the window with his back to the room. He turned his face to Croquet, his blind bandaged face.

"John, I'm dying."

He smiled thinly, a frozen dead smile. Croquet knew at that moment it had happened. His friend had finally given up. There was nothing more either of them could say. They already knew each other too well.

In the heavyness of the clear night air standing out under the stars in the dampening grass Croquet felt the tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. He didn't want them to come. He loosened his shirt collar around the tightness in his throat. Someone around here had to be strong. Someone had to take care of things. He looked down at his watch and rubbed his throbbing temple. It was ten to three, time to head back to the tower.

Just as he opened the car door and was about to slip inside he felt the ringing of his communicator on his belt.

"Croquet here."

He intoned blandly into the small receiver.

"Hey Chief! It's Kemo, we got activity up at the East tower!"

"What kind of activity?!"

Croquet shouted back. He automatically put his ear piece in so he could talk and still have his hands free. Adrenalin shot through his system and a lifetime of training and experience translated into an instant response. He threw himself into the car and began driving at break neck speed up the long winding drive way. Dark trees loomed up around him but his reflexes were dagger sharp.

"I think we got ourselves a code green!"

Kemo shouted back.

"What do you mean?!"

Croquet was in utter disbelief. A code green meant duel monsters or other shadow realm activity. Ironically it was named after the color Kemos face turned the first time he saw an Eatgaboon trap card come to life in the middle of the board room. It was one of the Masters practical jokes.

"I said code green at the East tower! Right now!!"

The younger field agent was extremely desperate on the other end of the line. He clearly had no idea what to do.

" Stand down! Don't go near it! I'm on my way!"

Croquet flipped his communicator closed and applied more pressure to the gas pedal. He slammed on the breaks as soon as he reached the inner courtyard of the West gate and the back of the car skidded around with smoking tires into a parked position. He jumped out of the vehicle and sprinted the rest of the way.

Kemo was standing with a group of four other security personnel, all of them tall with dark grey suits. They could have been pall bearers they all had such gloomy expressions. Kemo, with his dark glasses on at night and his exaggerated bangs with the single tall spike was acting quite the fool. He was gesturing wildly at them, trying to convince them of something. Linda, the thin red haired woman was looking the least impressed of the group. She had on her classic, "I've just been sucking a lemon" expression and Croquet could tell she was an inch away from kicking Kemos ass right off the battlements.

"What's going on here?"

Croquet demanded gruffly as he ran up to them. He took time to breath while they explained.

"Kemo here has gone looney on us, that's what."

A thick necked blond man named Stableford immediately answered him.

"He says he saw bright flashes of light from the tower. Keeps tellin us about magic monsters. I think he's..."

"I did! Look at this if you don't believe me!"

Kemo interrupted and shoved a small hand held tv screen in Croquets face. The viewer had nothing but static on it. The others frowned angrily at him and Linda finally grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"How dare you try to pull something so disrespectful at a time like this!"

She began scolding him. Croquet held up his arm and stopped her. The static on Kemos screen was a direct feed from the security cameras positioned in the tower. The camera had not been disabled which only left one other possibility. Something up there was disrupting the signal. Kemo was not the brightest guy on the team but he was loyal past the point of stupidity. Croquet had posted the man to watch for intruders. If Kemo said he saw something, then Croquet was inclined to believe him.

A loud echoing cry sharply sliced the deep night. Everyone gasped and looked up at the stone tower above them. A huge blast of golden light blew out all the glass from the windows and sent a small burning piece of lace curtain floating down over the castle walls.

"Holy mother of...!"

Stableford and the others just stood there stunned.

"Stay here!"

Croquet grabbed Kemo by the shoulder and they both ran for the tower stairs and into the darkness at the bottom of the structure. Croquet knew that scream was from the Master and his heart was thumping fiercely in his chest as his feet pounded against the hard stone stairs. A river of damp sweat was running down his back, itching him under his shirt, but he kept on going. He reached for the cold metal of his gun as he went and he could sense Kemo doing the same. They were almost at the top.

The two men stood breathing heavily, their backs against the granite wall on the narrow landing in front of a solid brass fitted wooden door. It was a door built to withstand mediaeval sieges long ago. Croquet slowly reached over and tried the latch, his gun raised in his right hand. The heavy latch did not budge. He looked over his shoulder at Kemo and gave a nod. The other man stepped out away from the wall and prepared to ram the door with his shoulder.

Suddenly the floor and the walls lurched away from the two men and they dropped to their knees.

''I don't think you want to join us right now boys. It's getting rather hot in here at the moment.''

The self assured voice of Maximillian Pegasus echoed into their minds.

"Boss? Is that you?"

Kemo held his head with both his hands and looked around wide eyed.

""No, I'm the Easter bunny and I'm here to hide eggs in your brain!""

The heavy sarcasm was lit with a mischievous bit of laughter at the end. It had to be Pegasus, no one else could match his odd sense of humor. Kemos face turned a very pale shade of green and he sat quietly hugging his gun.

"Master Pegasus! What's going on in there? Are you...alright?"

Croquet whispered into the hallway. He knew his thoughts were being read, but he spoke anyways just to keep his message clear.

""Yugi and Miss Valentine are here, and another less welcome guest. I cannot allow you to enter until this is resolved.""

There was a stern tone to the deep voice now, the slight British accent became more pronounced as it always did when Pegasus issued orders.

"But are you alright Max?"

Croquet did not really want to know the answer to his question. The Masters tortured scream was still fresh in his mind and he was already bracing himself for what he would find in that room. He knew that half of the time when the Master used that tone of voice with his orders he was bluffing. He was hiding something from them, something bad. What had Yugi done to him?! Croquet stood up with a sudden flare of anger. He was ready to break the door down himself!

""I can see you're not going to listen to me John, I'm sorry we have to part under such circumstances. I was always honored to call you my friend""

That was the last thing Croquet heard as a light airy mist descended on his mind and washed away his consciousness. He felt himself slump down to the floor and Kemo leaned over onto him as they both fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

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End file.
